US2270361A - Knitting machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 20, 1942. r WAECHTLER 2,270,361

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May '7, 1958" 3 Sheets-Sheet l 5 f W 7 I6 I 5 FIG 1 Q J I3 I: h 45 'INVENTOR \M Mini-A123 ATTOR N EY Jan. 20, 1942. K. WAECHTLER KNITTING MACHINE Filed May '7, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR mum 22.0 fic r53: 53-320 0 38. 583 ta E32: :5

.5 3 352 42:: aziuiaou Jan. 20, 1942. K. WAECHTLE R KNITTING MACHINE Filed May '7, 1938 s SheetsSheet s SQWTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 20, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v KNITTING momma Kurt waechtlenrhil adelphia, Pa. Application May 7, 1938, Serial No. 206,606 1 (01. 66-82) 8 Claims.

My invention is an improvement in knitting machines for knitting diaphanous full-fashioned silk stockings, and it relates particularly to the camv motions of machines having general characteristics of the Cotton type. Such machines are characterized by an en masse movable bank of needles, and a cycle ,of movement during a part of which, called cfiuliering, yarn is bent by measuring sinkers to form sequential loops along the stationarybank of needles, and during the remainder of which, called knitting,

the measuring sinkers, and usually "dividing sinkers also, together with the needles have complementary en masse movements imparted thereto to further andcomplete the formation of a new row of loops. My invention is applicable to machines having or omitting dividing sinkers.

A leading object of myinvention is to eliminate or minimize much of the breaking, stretching and chafing of yarn which occurs duringthe knitting part of the cycle, and which I have discovered is largely due toexcessive stresses imparted to the yarn when sinkers recede too slowly or uncertainly'during the advancement of theneedles to press and the descent, between the sinkers, of the needles which are positively actuated en masse from a positively driven cam and lever mechanism. 2

By my improvements, these defects are eliminated or minimized by imparting a positive and tering of the friction, rod during transition from the couliering to the knitting part of the cycle.

This recoil or chattering, I have obviated by giving to the main shaft of the machine a forward impulse or bias in the transition from couliering to knitting. This forward impulse or bias is imparted by the actionof spring and gravity actuated members on declivities of cams in efiecting the first operations in the knitting part of the cycle, thereby preventing retardation, recoil or backlash of the cam shaft and therethrough of thecouliering mechanism, friction rod and slur bar. The movements of these grave ity and spring actuated parts down the declivities of the cams effect the movement of the catch bar toward sinker engaging position and the downward movement of: the needle bar toward pressing position. The avoidance of impedance of the forward motion of the main shaft of the machine at the end of couliering provides a steady pull from thecam shaft, through the unyielding retractile movement to all the sinkers during the pressing and downward movements of the needles, which latter are, in accordance with my invention, actuated by a downwardly biasing but yielding force or actuating means, such as gravitation and spring tension. Such friction rod and upon the friction box which minimizes or prevents rebound of the carrier bar when it contacts its end stop, and eliminates any chatter or recoil of the feed tube against the top edges of projected sinkers, even when the power is thrown off at the end of couliering.

A further object of my invention is to impose a drag or check on the action of the machine near the end of the knitting part of the cycle to facilitate stoppage for carrier changing bepositive and unyielding retraction of the sinkers, 0

is preferably effected by the action of an acclivity on a rotating cam which imparts a lift to lever mechanism resting thereon and therethrough transmits a positive retractile movement to a catch bar during the engagement thereof with the sinker butts. This Withdraws the tapered nebs of the sinkers from beneath the yarn kinks at a rate-complementary to the downward movement imparted to the needles by the action of acoiled sprng or gravity on a lever mechanism whose movement under the influence of such yielding force is restrained by the declivity of a cam preferably on the same shaft as the first mentioned or catch bar cam.

A further object of my invention is the eliminination of smashes due to the engagement of the top edges of advanced sinkers by thetip of the yarn-feed-tube caused by the recoil or chatfore beginning the laying and couliering of yarn for a new course. This drag or impediment is imposed by the concurrent action of cam acclivities in shifting rearwardly the catch bar and elevating the needlebar to cycle starting posi tions.

The portions ofthe faces of the needle bar up-and-down cam and of the catch bar shifting cam which are in actidn duringthe couliering portion of the cycle are substantially circular segments,the peripheral points of the respective segments being equidistant from their respective centers, or nearly so. The faces of these cams which are in action during the knitting portion of the cycle are of no greater and are mostly of lesser radii than the projected peripheries of the couliering portions of the cams and are, in gen- 'eral, concave faces extending secantly with rehaving convex segmental faces of longer radii than usual.

My improvements eliminate the strong, heavy springs and abrupt motions characteristic of high speed machines of the Cotton type and permit smoother operation of such machines at higher speeds, with less operating power and with less labor and attention from the operative. My improvements further minimize the torque on the cam shaft and permit the utilization of machines having a greater number of knitting heads than hitherto.

The silk fabric produced by my-improved machine is more uniform and more free from yarn breakage and holes than hitherto and can be knitted more rapidly.

My improvements are applicable to usual types of machines combining sequentially movable measuring sinkers and en masse movabledividing sinkers, and to machines of the type disclosed in my application Serial No. 98,853, filed September 1, 1936, now 'Patent No. 2,187,715, whereof this application is a continuation in part. In machines having measuring sinkers only, such as disclosed in my above application, even greater smoothness of operation is secured than in machines ha-ving en masse dividing sinkers by imparting a gradual forward movement to the catch bar and a slight forward bias to the machine during couliering by the gravity and spring-tension action of the catch bar mechanism on a gradual declivity of the couliering-period face I of the catch bar cam.

The characteristic features and advantages of my improvements will further appear from the following description and. the accompanying drawings in illustration of embodiments thereof.

In the drawingsFig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of a knitting machine of the "Cotton type including en masse dividing sinkers and having my improvements embodied therein, with the parts positioned just after the beginning of the couliering portion of the cycle; Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged fragmentary detached views showing respectively the needle bar up-and-down cam and associated lever and the catch bar shifting cam and its associated lever in their relative positions about the end of the couliering portion of the cycle; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic lay-out illustrating the projected contours of the concurrently acting portions of the needle bar up and down cam and catch bar shifting cam throughout the cycle with the lever rollers positioned at the end of the couliering portion of the cycle; Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view illustrating the application of my improvements to a knitting machine having characteristics of the Cotton type without any en masse dividing sinkers and with pairs of connected measuring sinkers actuated consecutively: and. Fig. 6 is a detached enlarged somewhat diagrammatic view illustrating the kinking of the yarn by the consecutively moved pairs of measuring sinkers.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive of the drawings, my improvements are embodied in a full-fashioned knitting machine of the Cotton type having a series of carrier rods I on which are mounted yarn feed tubes 2 for laying yarn along a bank of en masse movable needles 3 mounted in a needle bar 4 which is fixed to the bracket 5. The carrier rods l are reciprocabie by means of friction boxes 6 mounted on a friction rod 1 which. is moved back and forth by the coulier mechanism- 8 which is operated in the usual manner through the shaft 9' from the main cam shaft 9.

As the yarn is laid by the tube 2 along the bank of needles 3, it is kinked by the advance of high or measuring sinkers l0 which are slidahie in the sinker bed II and actuated sequentially by the rocking of the jacks l2 under the impact of a slur l3. The slur I3 is reciprocated by the slur bar M which is connected with the couliering mechanism and operated in synchronism with the friction rod 1.

A set of low or dividing sinkers l5 are mounted in the sinker bed H and when the advance of the measuring sinkers by the couliering mechanism has been completed the dividing sinkers are advanced en masse by the catch bar l6 to subdivide the yarn kinks or loops formed by the measuring sinkers on each pair of needles 3, the needles being rocked outwardly toward the fabric take-up roll I! during this advance of the dividing sinkers.

During the couliering of the measuring sinkers Hi the needle bar 4 and the catch bar I6 are held stationary in the positions shown in Fig. 1. During such period the needle bracket 5 is supported in elevated position by the links I8 pivotally mounted on the arms I9 fixed to the needle bar shaft 20 journalled in the machine frame. The needle ba'r shaft 20 has fixed thereto a lever 2| provided with a roller 22 which, in accordance with my invention rests, during couliering, upon the segmental circular face 23a of a cam 23 fixed to the main cam shaft 9. The roller 22 is yieldingly pressed against the face of the cam 23 by the action of gravity and of a light coiled spring 25 anchored to a frame bracket 26.

During the couliering period, the catch bar I6 is held in retracted position by the links 21 pivotally connected with arms 28 fixed on the catch bar shaft 29. The catch bar shaft 29 has fixed thereto a lever 30 provided with a roller 3| which, in accordance with my invention rests, during couliering, upon the segmental circular face 32a of the cam 32 fixed to the main cam shaft 9. The roller 3| is yieldingly held against the peripheral face of the cam 32'by the action of gravity and of the light coiled spring 34 anchored to the frame bracket 35.

In accordance with my invention, the circular segmental couliering period face 23a of the cam 23 is followed by a gradual, slightly concave, declivity 23b, and the roller 22, under the pull of gravity and the spring 25, runs down such declivity toward the axis of the shaft 9 and gives the latter a forward bias (in the direction of the arrow Fig. l). The descent of the roller 22 down the declivity 23b yieldingly lowers en masse the bank of needles 3 into position to have their beards pressed against the press face II by the rocking of the bracket 5 through the usual press lever mechanism 36, 31 and 38 actuated by the usual cams (not shown) on the main cam shaft 9.

Concurrently with the descent of the roller 22 down the first part of the declivity 231), the roller 3|, under the pull of gravity and the light spring 34, descends the declivity 3217 which succeeds the circular segment or couliering period face 32a of the cam 32. This descent of the roller 3| down the declivity 32b furthers the forward bias or impulse given the cam shaft 9 and'rocks the lever 30 so as to yieldingly advance the catch bar I6 and the dividing sinkers so that by the time the last measuring sinker has been couliered the catch bar is in position to be dropped into engagement with the butts of the advanced measuring sinkers by the movement of the usual links 39 pivoted on the arms main cam shaft 9.

40 of the shaft 4|, which rocks under the control of the lever 42, roller 43 and cam 44 on the It will thus be seen that during the couliering of the last of the measuring sinkers and the overrun of the friction rod through thefriction box, the main cam shaft 9 and the parts, in

cluding the friction rod, driven thereby are biased forward by the concurrent descent 'of the rollers 22 and 3| down the declivities 23b and 32b so that the lower end of thetube 2 stands stationacclivity 32d 'whichlcontinues to lift the roller 3| and to positively retract the catchbar l5, and its connected sinkers while the roller22 continues its descent down the declivity 230 which succeeds the declivity 23b on the periphery of the cam 23. This concurrent positive withdrawal H of the sinkers and yielding descent of the needlcs insures that i the inclined tops of" the sinker nebsare withdrawn from the yarn kinks there on as fast as such kinksiare pulled down bythe yieldingly descending needles, so that constant uniformtcnsionis maintained on the yarn without the possibility of imposinga' stress thereon which will break, stretch orchafe it.-

When the catch barhasbeen retracted to its" extreme rearward position by the action of the acclivity 32d, the nebs of the sinkershave been withdrawn ,from beneath the kinked yarn which is rapidly drawn downonto the knock-over bits 45 andthrough the fell loops of the fabric: by the descent of the roller 22 down the steep declivity 23d which succeeds the declivity Moon the pe riphery of the cam 23. a a a During the knitting of the new course through,

the fellaloops,- the catch bar is held in its retracted position by theengagementof the roller 3| with the circular ,segment32e, which succeeds the acclivity 32d on the periphery of the cam 32.

,When then'ew course of loops has been formed by the descent of the needles, the latter are posi- Ill tively elevated by the engagement of the roller 22 with the steep acclivity 23e which rocks the lever 2| and raises the: needles to a position slightly above their position during couliering.

The. needles are returned to couliering position bytheengagement of the roller 22 with the slight declivity 23 before engagement of the roller 22with the beginning of, theicam surface 23a for,

a new couliering operation.

7 puring the early part ofthe ascent of the needles, th'e roller 3ldescends the declivity32j of the cam 32 to yieldingly move the catch bar and sinkersforward sumcientlyfor the sinker nebs to preventthe rise of the fabric with the needles. When the beards have cleared the fabric, the

roller 3! is engaged by the vacclivity 32g of the cam 32 to positively retract the catch bar and sinkers to their rearmost position before the catch bar is lifted out of engagement with the sinkers by the action of the cam 44 during the passage of the roller 3| over the circular seg ment 32h of the cam 32.

The concurrence of the-engagement of the rollers ,22 and 3| with the acclivities 23c and advance the measuring sinkers 32;; at the end of the knittingportion of the a cycle tends to retard the cam shaft 9 so that, if the power is thrown off to permit carrier changing, the machine is brought to a quick stop by its brakes withoutd'anger that themomentum of the machine will start the advance of measuring sinkersina'new couliering operation.

From a consideration of Fig. 4, it will be seen that, during the couliering period, thereis nei-y ther acceleration or deceleration of the machine from the co-action of the needle bar mechanism] and catch barmechanism with their respective cams 23 and 32 but that at the end ofcouliering the co-actioncr the needlebar mechanism and carrier bar mechanism with the decliviti'es 23b and 32b has an accelerating effect avoiding recoil, ba'ck la'sh and chatter; that, during the period *occupiedby the reciprocation of the" catch bar-from its frontito rear position and back again toits front position, the efifect oi theco actions of the :needle bar mechanism and catch bar, mechanism with their respective cams substantialiy counterbalance one another so that neither an acceleratingnor decelerating effect is given the machine"thereby, and that, during the retraction of the catch bar to its couliering position, the concurrence of the coactions of the needle bar mechanismand catch bar mech' anisrn with acclivities on their respectivecams tends to decelerate or retard the machine to fac-ilitate stoppage thereof at the end of the knitting portion of thecycle.

In Figs. 5 and 6, Ihave illustrated the embodiment of the present invention 'in a knitting m'achine in which high sinkers ill and low sinkers l5 vare connectedtogether in pairs to form kinking units Illa which are, advanced consecutively to bend yarn laid by the carrier 2 to form in suc-t cession pairs of bights on opposite sides of alternate needles of the bankt3, the bights of each pairbeing formed, simultaneously and having a common planetransverse to the axis of the ad,- jacent ,needlesgas described in Serial No. 98,853.

inthis construction, theunits Illa are advanced consecutively by the jacks l2 and slur l3inthe samemanner that thejacks and slur ID in the construction shown in Fig. 1.,

,The low sinkers I5 do not have elongated butts suchas are carried by the dividing sinkers I5 for continuous engagement in the slot of the catch bar l6, and hence there is no necessity for this catch bar being, in retracted position throughout couliering. To further smooth out the action of the machine, the'couliering period portion 32% of the peripheryof uthe catch bar cam 32 is givenra slight incline toward the axis of the camshaft 9 so that duringcoulieringthe roller 3| runs down a very gradual declivity,

thereby imparting a very slight forward bias to the cam shaft; and r a slow forward: movement 1 to the catch barjlB, so that at theend of coulier:

ingthe catch bar has but a slight forward movement to complete. The declivity32 b may there fore be made slightly shorter or more gradual than the declivity 32b. however that its cooperation with the catchbar mechanism, needle bar mechanism and declivity 23b avoids any deceleration or recoil or chattering of the machine at the end of cculiering;

The action of the camsdurirgthe remander of the cycle is the same when the yarn k nking twin units Illa are used as when the sequentially couliered sinkers Ill and en masse movable sinkmy application It still has such pitch.

ers I5 are used, and hence need not be again described.

In whatever machine my invention is embodied, the catch bar and needle bar mechanisms both have a tendency to accelerate or bias forward the main shaft of the machine at the completion of couliering" and to decelerate or retard the main shaft of themachine toward the end of knitting. When the descent of the needles movesthe yarns down against the sinkers, the needles are yieldingly moved while the'sinkers are positively retracted; whereas when the sinkers move the yarn forward against the needies, the sinkers are yieldingly moved and the needles are positively supported. These functions are inexpensively effected, as described, by mounting the needle bar and catch bar on lever mechanisms which are pulled gravitationally, and, if desired,'by light spring pressure, against the peripheries of cams on the cam shaft. Such cams support the lever mechanisms against the gravitation and spring pull thereon during the intermittent actuation of the couliering mechanism from the cam shaft and both have declivities down which the lever mechanisms move at or about the end of the couliering movement, when the yarn feeder and slur have completed their work. Both mechanisms thereby impart a forward bias or tendency to the machine about the end of each stroke of the slur to avoid chattering or re'coil of the yarn feeder. The face of the cam supporting the needle bar lever mechanism continues to decline to permit the downward movement of the needles during the positive retraction of the catch bar by the engagement with its lever mechanism of an acclivity on its supporting cam. The needle bar is raised by the engagement with its lever mechanism of an acclivity on its cam, while the catch bar is yieldingly advanced and positively retracted by the coaction of its lever with a declivity and acclivity on its cam so that the forward motion of the main shaft of the machine is retarded by acclivities on both cams just before the next couliering movement.

By my improvements it is possible to knit fine rubber yarn into fabric of uniform appearance, and to use in a machine of given gauge needles having finer shanks than heretcfore,'and to avoid the robbing of sinker loops by the rising needles, thereby producing a fabric having sinker loops and needle loops of more uniform and equal size. Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a knitting machine, a cam shaft having cams thereon, reciprocating yarn laying mecha-' nism and reciprocating'slur mechanism opera tively connected'with saidcam shaft, and needle bar mechanism and catch bar mechanism operatively connected with cams aforesaid and both imparting a forward bias thereto about the end of each stroke of the slur mechanism, the respective cams and the mechanisms associated therewith imparting opposing tendencies to the cam shaft during a major part of the loopforming cycle.

2. In a knitting machine, a cam shaft having cams thereon, reciprocating yarn laying mechanism and reciprocating slur mechanism operatively connected with said cam shaft, and needle bar mechanism and catch bar mechanism operatively connected with cams aforesaid and both retarding the forward movement thereof before the beginning of each stroke of said slur mechanism,-the respective cams and the mechanisms associated therewith imparting opposing tendencies to the cam shaft during the part of the loop forming cycle after the needles are moved against the presser bar until the catch bar is partly advanced.

3. In a knitting machine, a cam shaft having cams thereon, needle bar mechanism and catch bar mechanism operatively connected with cams aforesaid, one of said cams having an acclivity engaging the catch bar mechanism to retract the catch bar and the other of said cams having a declivity engaged by said needle bar mechanism and effecting the lowering of said needle bar mechanism concurrently with the retraction of said catch bar, saidcams and the mechanisms associated therewith respectively imparting opposing tendencies to the cam shaft until the catch bar is partly advanced and then concurrently imparting a retarding tendencies to the cam shaft.

4. In a knitting machine, the combination with needle bar mechanism, catch bar mechanism, couliering mechanism and a cam shaft, of means for intermittently operating said couliering mechanism from said cam shaft, 9. pair of cams on said cam shaft, each cam having substantially circular segments supporting said needle bar mechanism and said catch bar mechanism respectively during the operation of said couliering mechanism, each of said cams having a declivity down which said needle bar mechanism and catch bar mechanism respectively move at the end of said couliering operation and each of saidcams having an acclivity up which said needle mechanism and catch bar mechanism respectively move just before the next operation of said couliering mechanism, said cam shaft being thereby biased forward at the end of one couliering operation .and retarded immediately before the beginning of the next couliering operation, and said cams being so shaped that the mechanisms associated therewith respectively exert opposing tendencies on the cam shaft between said forward-biasing and retarding actions.

5. In a knitting machine, the combination with needle bar mechanism, catch bar mechanism, couliering mechanism and a cam shaft, of means for intermittently operating said couliering mechanism from said cam shaft, a pair of cams on said cam shaft, one of said cams having a substantially circular segment supporting said needle bar mechanism during the operation of said couliering and the other of said cams having a gradual declivity supporting said catch bar mechanism during the operation of said couliering mechanism, each of said cams having a declivity down which said needle bar mechanism and catch bar mechanism respectively move at the end of said couliering operation and each of said cams having an acclivity up which said needle bar mechanism and catch bar mechanism respectively move just before the next operation of said couliering mechanism, said cam shaft being thereby biased forward at the end of one needle bar mechanism, a cam on said cam shaft operatively connected with said catch bar mechanism, said first named cam having a declivity down which said needle bar mechanism moves to lower the needle. bar between the operations of said couliering mechanism, and said second named cam having an acclivity acting concurrently with a part of said declivity to positively retract said. catch bar during the lowering of said needle-bar and said cams having surfaces so shaped that the mechanisms associated therewith exert opposing tendencies on the cam shaft after the lowering of the needle bar until the catch bar is partly advanced, and then exerting concurrent retarding tendencies on the cam shaft.

'7. A knitting machine having a-needle bar, sinkers, a yarn feeder extending below the tops of said sinkers, a slur for advancing said sinkers sequentially after the passage of said feeder, a catch bar for operating said sinkers after the vance of the sinkers, one of said cams having an acclivity rocking its complementary lever mechanism'to positively retract said catch bar during the lowering of the needle bar by the other of said lever mechanisms, and said cams and lever mechanisms exerting opposing tendencies on said camshaft between the lowering of the needle bar and the partial advance of the catch bar. v 8. A balanced driving mechanism for a fullfashioned knitting machine comprising "a main cam shaft having a plurality of cams thereon, a catch bar shifting lever fulcrumed adjacent to the peripheryof the other of said cams below advance thereof by said slur,a cam shaft, means for operating said slur and feeder intermittently from said camshaft, and means comprising lever mechanisms and cams on said shaft for supporting and operating said needle bar and catch bar and characterized by gravitational engagement between said lever mechanisms and cams and by said cams both having declivities down which the respective lever mechanisms move after the advance of all said sinkers, and

both having acclivities which rock said lever the plane of the roller first named, a spring lying beneath said cam shaft and biasing said needle bar lifting" lever, said cams having peripheries providing acclivities simultaneously engaging said rollers to decelerate the rotation of the cam shaft at the end of the knitting movement of the machine and providing declivities i simultaneously engaging 'said rollers to accelerate the rotation of the cam shaft at the beginning of the knitting movement of the machine.

KURT WAECHILER.

mechanisms immediately before the next ada

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